Roof problem - 22 Switch, Cowl Panel unlocked, short circuit to ground

[houseofscouse]

Missus took Zelda to work this morning and when parking up, she went to put the roof up as per normal. The roof began to rise and she then opened the door mid-way through the cycle and the roof suddenly stopped.

She then pressed the close button again only for the roof to "stutter" a couple of times before the flashing red light came on. She then followed the process to manually open the roof all the way back and then left it down whilst at work.

Upon inspection tonight, the roof will rise about 12-18 inches before stopping suddenly. Error codes received were as follows:

22 Switch, Cowl Panel unlocked, short circuit to ground; and
13 Control Button, short circuit when closing.

I cleared both codes and 13 doesn't return. 22 comes back the moment the roof reaches its "failure" point.

I have since manually pulled the roof up to the point of closing and then pressed the close button to allow the motor to lock the roof in place - no response. Again same error message.

Lots of E46 roof issue sufferers pointing towards a break in a cable. Anyone else had this issue/can shed any light? If I have to test/replace the wiring harness, any recommendations on how to go about it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[houseofscouse]

Hi all.

In a panic now. I've manually unlocked the roof and was going to move it back to access the wiring. The roof now won't retract more than about 8-12 inches even with the hydraulics disconnected in the boot. It is as if parts of the roof mechanism are locked in place and are refusing to bend.

I will be able to lock/close it again, but I have no idea now how I open it and fix it. Any advice welcome. Feel proper out my depth now.

 

[bigwinn]

If you need it open then pop the hydraulic pipes off and catch the fluid- you’ll have full movement then

I reckon you’ll find a wire break on the loom where it folds in the convertible top, trace it from the front claws back down toward the motor

I have had this and it fixed my problem

 

[houseofscouse]

Bigwinn, thank you for the reply. I am certain it's that too. I've got permanent red flashing when the key is in now and zero response. I know if I get the roof down and I tried it, it will move about 12 inches up so on the basis the first part of the roof to raise is the front, I'm sure the break is not too far down. It's just being able to get to the wires.

 

[bigwinn]

You’ll need to get the roof movable- so get the pipes off

Make sure you have hydraulic fluid to refill it with

You’ll need to get the front plastic cover off the roof which is held on by 5 Torx across the front and two hidden at the sides which only present when the roof is about 2/3rds open

Once that’s off and hanging down you’ll see the loom

When sorted the roof should reset its brain when positioned open or closed

 

[bigwinn]

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=129382

 

[houseofscouse]

Credit to the missus....she got the roof down in seconds. She initially had the problem yesterday and found she needed to "jiggle" the hydraulic cut-off cord to release the roof. She conveniently omitted to letting me this! Haha

So, roof is now free flowing. I've got the front plastic off and disconnected/started unscrewing the loom. There's a couple of foot of loom that look difficult to remove.

 

[bigwinn]

Check that the said hydraulic cord isn’t your issue! But I am still fairly sure it’s your loom as mine worked if you jiggled it- making intermittent contact on the wire break

 

[houseofscouse]

To free the wiring loom completely I think there is one or two t20 torxs preventing me. One of them is almost exactly parallel to the top of the rear interior trim. Do you have to unbolt and raise one side of the roof to be able to get it all out? It feels like. There isn't enough access to get a t20 torx bit in there. Will take some pics of where I have got to shortly.

 

[houseofscouse]

I've just realised Bigwinn, the torx screw I am referring to is the one in your picture. The wiring there looks like the culprit. Looks gnarled up.

 

[houseofscouse]

Problem fixed!

Decided to take the roof off to sort the wiring loom and to take a look at the motor too. As you will see from the pic, found our main culprit, but the other two control wires were also kinked. Decided to solder and heat shrink all three. Someone had been in there before and the wires hadn't been fed through well. Now all sorted (admittedly after forgetting to check the parcel shelf microswitch was in the right position and thinking all work had been in vain! :rofl: ).

Roof motor in good nick too. Opted not to relocate it for now as the well is dry despite a few days of rain.

Thank you for the helpful advice!